Ed Sheeran Says He Considered Canceling Tour, Felt Abandoned After Macklemore Controversy

Ed Sheeran admitted he considered canceling the remainder of his “LOOP” US tour and felt abandoned by certain friends and family in the wake of the controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from the tour, but ultimately decided to move forward after seeing that fans were still holding on to tickets for his concert in Philadelphia on Saturday night.

In the second of two speeches addressing the events of the past week, delivered near the end of his show at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday, an emotional Sheeran said, “The last week of my life has been one of the worst weeks of my life. Today has been one of the weirdest days of my life. Tonight has been honestly the best show of my life – the best show.”

“I really didn’t know whether this tour would be carrying on,” he continued. “I really didn’t know whether I’d even be getting on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. In these situations, you really find out who your friends are, and it’s been a weird week. I just feel like it happened very quickly. And the whole time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour, and so many people coming out of my life that I’ve known for years and years and years just kind of backing away.”

He also admitted worrying about potential security threats, which led him to scrap the use of his B-stage, typically positioned in the middle of the audience. “I heard all sorts of things were going to happen. I didn’t know whether I’d be safe, or you’d be safe, or things would be thrown at me, or people would boo,” he said.

However, Sheeran said he was heartened by the ticket sales for Philadelphia. “I didn’t see cancellations – I saw people buying tickets for this gig…. I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me.”

“People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you,” Sheeran said of his decision to move forward with the tour. “I love you. I love this. I love what this concert brings. I love bringing people together from all backgrounds, all races, all religions, all political ideas. Lots of people here have differing opinions, and we’ve had a great night. You are standing next to people and dancing with people you may disagree with, but you probably understand them better by being one and loved. And I have had so many opinions on this, but the root of it is love. And if this tour ends, love doesn’t win. Love doesn’t win.”

Saturday’s show in Philadelphia marked Sheeran’s first concert since Macklemore was removed as a support act from the tour after several stadium operators, led by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, objected to the Seattle rapper’s previous remarks in support of Palestine and threatened to block him from performing if he remained on the bill. In response to Macklemore’s removal, Sheeran’s remaining openers – FINNEAS, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe – along with his live backing band Beoga, withdrew from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore and Palestine. Sheeran opened the night by addressing the controversy, concerns over venues restricting artists’ speech, and his own views on Israel and Palestine.

📲| Ed’s full speech thanking for the support:

‘The last week of my life was been one of the worst weeks… tonight has been honestly the best show of my life’

‘In this situations you really find out who your friends are… people I’ve knew from years ago are backing away’ pic.twitter.com/7iZIxrcujC

— Ed Sheeran Access (@AccessEdSheeran) September 20, 2026

Ed Sheeran’s Closing Speech:

“The last week of my life has been one of the worst weeks of my life. Today has been one of the weirdest days of my life. Tonight has been honestly the best show of my life—the best show.

“I really didn’t know whether this tour would be carrying on. I really didn’t know whether I’d even be getting on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. In these situations, you really find out who your friends are, and it’s been a weird week. I just feel like it happened very quickly. And the whole time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour, and so many people coming out of my life that I’ve known for years and years and years just kind of backing away.

“And in the back of my mind, I saw the ticket sales for this gig. I didn’t see cancellations—I saw people buying tickets for this gig. And then, you know, I’m there and everyone’s telling me to cancel, and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me. And I look at the end of the week, and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me.

“People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this. I love what this concert brings. I love bringing people together from all backgrounds, all races, all religions, all political ideas. Lots of people here have differing opinions, and we’ve had a great night. You are standing next to people and dancing with people you may disagree with, but you probably understand them better by being one and loved. And I have had so many opinions on this, but the root of it is love. And if this tour ends, love doesn’t win. Love doesn’t win.

“I can’t let you guys down. I can’t, and that’s why I’m here tonight on my own.

“I know how much effort it takes for you guys to get here. It’s not just a ticket that you buy. It’s hotels, it’s flights, it’s buses, it’s babysitters, it’s restaurants that you’ve booked in town before you’ve come here, it’s people staying with you that you’re going to the gig with, it’s having your grandmother come to stay. It’s a hell of a lot of effort. There’s a hell of a lot of stories here, a hell of a lot of families, a hell of a lot of love. And I can’t just bury my head and go, ‘Oh, that doesn’t matter anymore.’

“This wasn’t the easy option tonight. I didn’t know what was going to happen; I heard all sorts of things were going to happen. I didn’t know whether I’d be safe, or you’d be safe, or things would be thrown at me, or people would boo. And I’ve walked out, and I’ve felt so much love from you guys, and I’m so grateful.

“The world is a scary place right now. America is a scary place right now. This gives hope. This gives hope. Thank you so much, Philadelphia. I hope you all have had fun.

“The one thing that I would like to apologize for is the first bit of the show where it wasn’t about music and I had to talk. I understand that people have children here, and I understand that families didn’t buy a ticket to hear that first bit of the show, but that was something I felt like I needed to say. I felt there was a lot of questions that I needed to answer. So for all the parents out there that have brought their kids here tonight, thank you so much for bringing them, and I do apologize for the first bit of the show.

“My shows are about this: they’re about unity, they’re about love, they’re about family. They’re about people coming together that don’t know each other, that have different beliefs, and jumping around like maniacs with each other and having fun. And I will never stop doing this. I will never stop doing this. I love doing this so much.

“Philadelphia, thank you.”